


The Tudors, Season 3, Episode 1, Civil Unrest

by TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer



Category: The Tudors (TV)
Genre: Analysis, Episode Review, Episode: s03e01 Civil Unrest, Meta, Nonfiction, Season Premiere, Season/Series 03, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25465753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer/pseuds/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer
Summary: Warning: Contains spoilers for the episode and the rest of the series. Complete.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	The Tudors, Season 3, Episode 1, Civil Unrest

Open to Henry and Jane getting married with Jane now being portrayed by Annabelle Wallis

Later, people dance as Henry and Jane sit together. She thanks him for a necklace he gave her, and the locket she promised to forever wear last season will never be brought up again.

His response is, “I soon trust to thank you for mine.” They join the dance.

Charles Brandon and CB talk. She opines Jane will make Henry happy. “With God’s help, we’ll all be happy, now,” he responds.

A woman comes in, and an eye-patch wearing man comes over to talk to her. She’s a completely fictional character named Ursula, and he’s Sir Francis Bryan. Historically, he was involved with Henry marrying and killing Anne Boleyn.

Rich and Cromwell leave the feast, and Rich expresses his concern about Jane’s possible Catholicism.

Later, in her nightgown, Jane kneels as several priests pray. Giving her crucifix necklace, one of them informs her it belonged to Catherine.

Strangely, she puts it in the breast area of her nightgown. She couldn’t have handed it to one of her ladies or set it in a drawer?

Henry comes in.

I’m assuming he’s going to have her take her nightdress off once the others leave, and even if he doesn’t recognise the necklace as once belonging to Catherine, I imagine he’d be curious about her keeping a necklace there of all places.

He dismisses everyone. They begin to kiss, and he apparently doesn’t feel the necklace when they press against one another.

In Yorkshire, two men are tending sheep. One of them seems to have a large patch of dried blood on his face. I found a YouTube video of the actor, and whatever it is, it isn’t a birthmark or permanent tattoo.

Commissioners arrive at Sawley Abbey.

From across the field, Robert Aske and a man named John watch. Showing his disdain for Cromwell, John tries to convince Aske to lead people in standing up to the commissioners.

Back at the castle, Cromwell and Rich discuss their plans for the Reformation. Cromwell shows a lack of understanding as to why people might be opposed to it, and Rich says the treasury is doing better than ever.

In the throne room, there’s a nice moment where Henry and Charles Brandon are quietly talking. The latter makes some gesture with his hand, and Henry lightly smacks him.

Entering, Edward kneels, and Cromwell announces all the new titles Edward has. After Edward leaves, Cromwell and Henry talk about the alliance with the emperor. Cromwell announces Mary has written to ask if she and Henry can put the past behind them. Henry insists Mary must acknowledge her illegitimacy and take the Supremacy oath.

Outside the throne room, Cromwell approaches a cowboy-hat wearing Francis. Did this style exist back then?

It’s established Francis has been appointed as a gentleman to the privy chamber, and Cromwell says he might have a small job for him later.

Meanwhile, Henry takes Eustace to meet Jane officially. He leaves them to talk, and bringing up Anne’s motto of ‘The Most Happy’, Eustace says he believes it will be realised with Jane.

Henry spies on them.

Eustace brings up Mary, and Jane promises to show favour to her. Henry’s happy until Eustace suggests Jane might find more happiness with Mary as a daughter than she would with her children with Henry. Bursting in, Henry takes Eustace away.

As they walk, babbling about Jane’s greatness, Henry also makes veiled threats about a foreign war.

Back in Yorkshire, at a meeting, Aske asks what the men want. They want their holiday feasts back, for Cranmer and Cromwell to be gotten rid of, for the religious houses to be left alone, not to be unfairly taxed, and despite them being commoners, they want noble men placed in Henry’s service. Aske is sympathetic, but he gives a speech against rebelling against the king.

In the castle, Jane examines her ladies. She invokes the historical Jane Seymour’s motto when she tells them they’re all bound to serve and obey. Then, she summons Lady R over for a private conversation.

It turns out no one, not even Cromwell, is willing to help Lady R, and she feels condemned due to George’s actions.

Gently assuring Lady R none of what happened was her fault, Jane asks her to come back to court to be head lady-in-waiting.

Meanwhile, Francis goes to visit Mary. She refuses to sign the oath, and he shows his complete lack of a charming side by informing her, if she were his daughter, he’d smash her head against the wall until it was as soft as boiled apple. Then, he leaves.

Next, during a meal, Henry talks to Jane about his plans for her coronation, and Holbein is mentioned. Jane brings up Mary. Being physically intimating, he threateningly orders her not to talk of such things again. After this, he has a puppy brought in for her as another wedding gift.

Unlike the creepy, almost mentally vacant Jane of last season, here Wallis has Jane hiding her discomfort behind stoicism.

Later, Ursula moves her hand over a lit candle.

Okay, so far: Jane has bizarrely hid a crucifix in her Victoria’s Secret compartment, there’s a man with an unexplained patch of what might be dried blood on his face, and now, there’s this.

Later episodes have even more bizarre elements. Was Jane being so eerie last season meant to prepare the audience for something? Did recasting Jane throw off something in terms of the show going with a new tone?

Francis appears, and it’s established he left/sent a note asking her to meet him. He flat-out asks if she’d like to be his mistress.

She answers she’s engaged. Showing her a necklace, he asks if her fiancée can afford to give her such gifts before promising, if she says no, he’ll leave her permanently alone.

Elsewhere, Eustace tries to convince Mary to sign the oath by suggesting she can forswear it later. She declares this is hypocrisy, but gently pointing out Henry might put her to death, he further explains the emperor isn’t as inclined to help her anymore.

Almost crying, she agrees to sign.

He asks if she wants to read it first. Likely thinking, by not doing so, she can honestly claim she wasn’t in complete understanding of what she was hounded into signing, she answers no before signing it.

In Italy, a cardinal talks to a priest named Reginald Pole. It’s revealed his mother, Lady Salisbury, who was introduced in the first season to take care of Mary, is one of Jane’s ladies. The cardinal suggests Pole might be able to help the Catholic cause more in England. Then, he dramatically announces he knows who Pole really is.

Pole’s first name isn’t given in this scene, but I don’t get the impression he’s in anyway trying to conceal his identity.

Meanwhile, Ursula is wearing the necklace and nothing else as a similarly attired Francis recites poetry. Incidentally, she’s sitting right next to an uncovered window, and he’s sitting in front of said window.

In Yorkshire, Aske looks at the statute of Virgin Mary with nose chiselled off.

Back in the castle, Cromwell tells Henry Elizabeth needs new clothes, and Henry insists Norris was Elizabeth’s true father. When Cromwell informs him about Mary signing the oath, Henry is willing to take Jane to meet her but not to publicly reconcile with her yet. He continues the coronation will have to be postponed due to rumours of plague in the city. Finally, he expresses how pleased he is with Cromwell’s work on dissolving the religious houses.

Meanwhile, going through her jewels, Jane instructs Lady R to give a necklace to Lady Bryan to use for buying Elizabeth clothes, and then, says they need to think of a nice gift for Mary. She gives a speech revealing herself to be a determined feminist.

I’m not complaining, but I am noting this likely wasn’t true of the historical Jane.

Elsewhere, Aske is organising a rebellion. The shepherd with the unexplained blood-like mark on his face is named Charlie Raw.

In the next scene, Cromwell approaches Henry in the throne room. He’s ordered to kneel.

Back to Aske, he informs Charlie they’re pilgrims, not rebels, and they’re loyal to God, the Church, and Henry. This is not an attempt to go against Henry but an attempt to protect the interests of commoners and innocent clergy. Placing a hand on a book, Charlie swears to be loyal to all three before crossing himself. He’s given a badge to wear.

Next, Cromwell is knighted, made a baron, and declared Lord Privy Seal. Charles Brandon isn’t happy.

Back to the rebels, a man helps Charlie put the badge on.

Elsewhere, Mary thanks Jane for her gift. Jane expresses her happiness Mary and Henry are reconciled, and Henry appears. Mary holds back tears. Subtly showing how happy he is to see his daughter but having no idea how to fix things, Henry gives her a note to use for money. She addresses him as “your majesty”, and he corrects her, “Father.”

She repeats the word, and pressing his head against hers, he kisses her forehead. Then, he quickly leaves.

At another meal between Jane and Henry, she chatters about Mary as he eyes one of her ladies. She asks why he isn’t speaking to her, and he coldly informs her he’s disappointed in her lack of pregnancy.

Meanwhile, the rebels ride, and two men burst in to inform Cromwell and Rich of the rebellion.

Later, Henry demands to know how it is Cromwell didn’t know this was going on.

I’ll be the first to point out Henry does blame everything on everyone else, but in this instance, Cromwell really should have seen the potential for something like this happening and taken preventative steps against it.

Violently getting Cromwell sit down, Henry has him write what Henry dictates. In the letter, he makes the good point, rather than using violence, the people should have petitioned him if they so objected to his actions.

In Lincolnshire, there’s a huge crowd of rebels.

Back the castle, Cromwell and Rich discuss the situation. Interestingly, the manipulative, opportunistic, two-faced Rich makes the reasonable suggestion the commissioners be suspended from duty for their own safety whilst the rebellion is going on.

I’ll note in a later review how, when Rich is loyal, he is fully loyal right up until the point he’s not. More than just being loyal, though, he’s actually a valuable asset. He sees when things are going wrong, and he often urges caution and rationality when it comes to fixing them. Here, if Cromwell had listened, there’s a chance Cromwell might have been able to salvage his own reputation and still advance his goals in the future.

However, Cromwell is a fanatic, and he doesn’t care how many of his men die. He intends to show his work won’t be halted even on a temporary basis.

A man bursts in, and Cromwell doesn’t notice this until Rich alerts him. The rebels have taken Lincoln.

In his chambers, Henry talks to a quiet Charles Brandon about a time when he was five. When his father was dealing with rebels, he and his mother were taken into the tower, and though his mother tried to remain calm, they were both terrified. Henry was sure they’d both be killed.

Appointing Charles Brandon as commander, he orders Charles Brandon to deal with the rebels.

“I will do all your majesty commands and more,” Charles Brandon promises with grim determination.

Even though Charles Brandon has shown no hint of hesitation, Henry insists the men are traitors who deserve punishment.

Charles Brandon isn’t particularly thinking on the level of treason and sin. He hated hearing this story and thinking about how his best friend could have been killed at such a young age. Right now, all he’s thinking about is the fact there are men out there who mean to harm Henry. If Arthur had lived, Charles Brandon would still be willing to kill anyone who posed a threat to Henry.

At the Brandon household, CB is worried, but Charles Brandon assures her he’ll be fine. Having now put thought into things aside from just assuring Henry’s safety, he adds, “I am happy to accept this charge.” He explains Cromwell is being blamed for everything, and there’s a possibility the rebels will succeed in getting Cromwell’s head.

Meanwhile, dealing with his bad leg, Henry threatens to destroy Cromwell if everything isn’t resolved quickly.

The episode ends on Aske looking at an even larger crowd of rebels than before.

Fin.


End file.
